Full Circle
by Mania2100
Summary: Twenty years later, Dundorma calls for it's champion's again. All things come around again, we finally come Full Circle.
1. First Prelude: Eve Imposing Dimension 1

FULL CIRCLE

By: Matt Taylor

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, and make no money from their use.

Notes: This fic (with the exception of the prelude) takes place 20 years In the future of Monster Hunter 4 ultimate.

FIRST PRELUDE: EVE IMPOSING DIMENSION (1)

It was night time, the stars were out, and the city of Dundorma was celebrating.

Just hours ago, in the large field below him, a beast of legend had been defeated. The Kushala Daora, the ancient Metal Dragon of Wind had been beaten and repelled here. Weeks of preparation had gone into repairing the cities defenses from the previous battle held there, and it had all been a success.

His immensenessness had declared a full week of celebration for this event, and had opened his personal wine and beer cellars to the public. He could hear it from here, a band was playing a loud toon, while a chorus of Palicoes meowed along. He smiled. The last he had seen of the Ace Palico, he had been face down on one of the street cooks tables, having enjoyed his sixth glass of a drink the cook prepared called Felvine Liquor. The Caravaneer and the Wycoon had joined him, despite the street cooks insistence that only Palico could stomach the drink. The Caravaneer had laughed and asked for a second.

The Ace Commander and the Master of Defense were sitting at the head table, accepting praise from every passerby with a surprising amount of humility, Next to them was the Ace Lancer, calmly enjoying a fine meal, a glass of wine, and an old book on the Everwood's biology. People who passed by him shook his hand.

Little Miss Forge sat at a table next to the armory girl (apparently her new best friend), and The Man. Her cheeks were red and her eyes were half closed, as she lifted her beer mug up to the sky and called for a toast to great weapons, which the armory girl answered with a face that appeared to be even more drunk than her friend. The Man smiled slightly, and sipped calmly from his own mug.

While this went on, across from them, the Ace Cadet was making a valiant attempt to describe his rather stupid actions at the end of the fight as valiant and heroic, but the Guildmarm was simultaneously attempting to get him to give her physical descriptions of the Kushala Daora for her notebook

Even his Immensenessness had come down, sitting in a giant chair made especially for him, drinking beer from a mug the size of a barrel.

And he was here. The Hero of the Day was sitting in the Battlequarters, staring down at the place where the battle had taken place.

His helmet sat on the ground next to him, but the rest of his armor was still on, and the sword, THAT sword, lay on the ground next to him. His hand laying just slightly on the handle.

Veteran Hunters….they had certain beliefs that they gained through the years. They spent every day fighting horrible beasts, and taking parts of them from them for weapons and armor, after a few years doing this they started to believe that parts of the monster in question…stayed with the weapons. That a sword made from dragons scales, kept a piece of the dragon within it. You would be surprised at how many Hunters shared this belief.

He looked down at the sword, and its jagged black blade. It had tasted the blood of an Elder Dragon today, and it's "Voice" seemed quiet and satiated, for now. Who knew how long that would last, but he relished the quiet.

"Here you are Kindred Hunter."

He didn't need to turn to know who it was. Her voice was quite familiar to him now. The Ace Gunner walked over to stand behind him.

"What are you doing out here? There's a celebration going on."

"Not sure." He said "The sword wanted to come here."

"I see." She said, he finally turned around and looked at her, and felt his blood rise slightly. Her normal hunting gear was gone, and in its place was a simple white dress, lacking any form of decoration, and she was barefooted. It served as a contrast to her dark skin, and, he thought, made her look even more beautiful than she normally did. She sat down next to him, apparently ignoring his reaction.

"The sword's voice weighs on you?" She asked.

"Not usually, not unless it wants something very much." He said. For a second he considered putting his arm around her, until she surprised him and placed a hand on said arm, lifting it up, and placing it over her shoulders and cuddling against him. He imagined his face was quite red right now, but he ignored it.

"The burden a weapon places on a hunter can be great, I've known some hunters who have been overwhelmed by their own weapons."

"It won't overcome me." He said, finality in his voice. She smiled at him, and he thought it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

"Did I ever tell you how I met my master?" She asked, looking out over the Battlequarters.

"I don't believe so." He said, surprised by the change in topic.

"It was 13 years ago…"

…

 _She spun a story for him then, of a tribe of primitive people living deep, deep in the Everwood. The people had lived off the land, hunting and gathering whatever they needed, and worshipping a god called the "Wings of Flame."_

 _Then one day, something happened that had never happened before, a stranger entered their town. He was a Wyverian Hunter, and he had come seeking a powerful beast that had been flying out of the woods and attacking travelers along the roads. He called the beast a "Rathalos."_

 _They had no idea of what he was talking about, but he had yet to show any hostility to them, so they allowed him to stay. Over the next week he had often traveled out of the village, searching for his prey, and in one of those missions, he had found her and her father. Her father was a proud and skilled hunter for the village, going into the woods and returning with leather, meat and game for the village. That day she had gone with him, learning to use a bow for her own future role as the village's hunter_

 _Her father and the Hunter had gotten along famously, recognizing a kindred spirit in the other. They had become so close, that her father told him of his secret goal in hunting the woods, to find and kill the great beast that had slain his wife, her mother. He had found her in the woods years ago, her body a charred corpse. He recognized her only through the small bracelet he had made for her as an engagement gift._

 _The Hunter had said that he suspected that the beast they both sought was one and the same, and from that day forward, they scoured the woods together, searching for any sign of the beast. It was at the end of the third week since the strange Hunter arrived that it happened._

 _They had returned from another unsuccessful search, and found the entire village waiting for them at the gate. One of the chieftain's advisor's stepped and pointed at them. He said_

" _These are them, are heard them plotting! They mean to kill the "Wings of Flame. Each day they search the forest for him"_

 _Her father had tried to talk to his people, but they refused to listen, and the chieftain passed down judgment on them. That for this crime they would both be bound, and given to the "Wings of Flame" as a sacrifice to appease their god and make amends for this foolish act. They had tried to struggle, but it had been futile, her father's bow and the Hunter's swords were taken from them, and they were bound in rope._

 _She had followed the procession through the forest, as her father and the Hunter were carried towards the god's temple. She saw it in a clearing up ahead, a tall pyramidal form rising up to the top of the trees which towered over everything. At the very top was a small opening revealing blue sky._

 _Her father and the Hunter had been carried up, and placed on an altar, then the villagers had drawn back and one in the back had sounded a large horn. The Villagers bowed, and she could hear the sound of wings beating in the air._

 _Up above, through the small opening, came the Wings of Flame._

 _This was the first time she had ever seen her people's god, and it stunned her into silent fear. It was huge, and covered in red and black scales. It had no arms, but its wings seemed to be in the arms place, and it had a long tail coming out behind it. It suddenly let out a horrible roar that made her clutch at her ears._

 _When it stopped, she saw it land, and knew it would devour her father. She immediately kicked at the knees of the villager that held her father and the Hunter's weapons, she grabbed both, and ran towards the stairs. She was certain that the villagers would try to stop her, but none dared follow up the stairs, not while the sacrifice was going on._

 _She quickly ran to the altar, and used the Hunter sword to cut at the ropes. If she had had more time, she would have been stunned at how easily the blades cut through the binding, but she was too focused on her father. He quickly leapt up, and took his bow, the Hunter doing the same. Her father told her to run to the steps and look for a place to hide. She did so, but watched the battle to come._

 _And what a battle it was! Her father and the Hunter took on the Wings of Flame in a manner befitting true warriors. It was at one point that she saw it. The Wings of Flame reared back, and shot a ball of fire, from his mouth. The blast exploded a few feet from where she was hiding. Her father suddenly shouted to the sky._

" _As I suspected, it was you! You are the slayer of my wife! Finally I shall have my justice!"_

 _And the battle continued. Her father now fought with a ferocity she had never seen in him. Every arrow hit with savagery, every slash with the large arrowhead made to draw blood. But still the beast would not fall. It was when the creature landed near her that it happened._

 _The great Wings of Flame turned, and she felt fear as she realized it SAW her! She heard her father scream, and the beast reared back, with flame already pouring from its mouth. She closed her eyes. Certain she was about to die, she opened when she felt a wind pass her, and she saw a figure leap in front of the flaming blast._

 _To her horror, she saw her father, laying on the grounf, his body scarred beyond recognition, but he still lived long enough to reach out to her. She took his hand, and he smiled and died. The beast looked down at her, and seemed confused for a moment, but roared once again, and was ready to finish her off. But the Hunter was between them before it had the chance._

 _His Twin Blades flew through the air, cutting into the beast again and again, and finally, finally the Wings of Flame fell. It's corpse hitting the ground with a loud thud. Had she had the presence of mind at the time, she would have noticed the Hunter pick up a red scale that had fallen off her people's god, but she saw only her father, who she clutched to even as the battle ended, and the villagers stormed up the temple._

 _The next day they had exiled the Hunter, and her as well._

" _You aided in this horrible crime, for the slaying of the Wings of Flame, you are exiled, never to return to this place! Begone before we kill you!"_

 _The Hunter had left the Everwood, carrying a crying little girl in his arms. He had taken her back to this city, this…Dundorma. Several days after he came to her and showed her the scale he had taken, and gave it to her, and asked her if she wanted to be a Hunter, like her father. She had said yes._

…..

"And with that, I became a disciple of the Master of Defense."

"Wow." He said. "And you never returned?"

"Never. And I don't intend to. Let them stay in the Everwood forever, I say. My life is here, my home is here." She said.

"What did you do with that scale?" He asked.

"Like your sword, my gun speaks to me, not with words, but in other ways. The Wings of Flame is with me always."

He had nothing to say to that, and for the next few minutes, there was only silence.

"You were amazing out there today." She finally said.

"Pssh! Hardly, All I did was move the cart around and fire the gun." He said.

"It was more than what you did there. Just you being there helped greatly, even my master says that without you there, we may not have won, even if the weapon were complete."

"I wouldn't have been able to do it without all of you."

"Thank you." She said, smiling. He looked down at her, and saw her looking at him, and smiling just slightly.

"Do you think we make a good team?" He asked. She suddenly moved in front of him.

"Of course, very much so." And she kissed him. He was more than happy to return it, putting his arms around the Ace Gunner and holding her close. When they finally broke apart, for a moment they only looked into each other's eyes, before she stood up.

"Come, I think we should find a place that's a little more private." She smiled again, and slowly walked towards the entrance to the Battlequarters. He picked up his sword and helmet and followed her.

….

It was late at night in his room, he lay there staring at the ceiling. The Ace gunner was cuddled up against him, his arm around her shoulders and holding her close. He looked around, and saw were his armor had been rather haphazardly placed, along-side of her dress, now crumpled up on the floor. He could still hear loud music, but it was muffled by distance and the walls.

"Still awake." He heard her say.

"Heh, sorry. Did I wake you?"

"Yes, but that's alright."

He was quiet for a moment. "So….where do we go from here?"

He felt her smile against his skin. "I don't know, but I think I'll stick with you for awhile."

She looked up at him with a smile that made his heart leap.

END OF PRELUDE.

Notes: Well, thanks for getting through the first part of the prelude. Hope you enjoyed it. I was a little surprised by Monster Hunter 4, as it focused on story a lot more than other games in the series. It was in Dundorma when I interacted with the Wycoon, and he told me the Ace Gunner had been asking him questions about "Me" that I decided my hunter was in love with her. And that lead to his fic here.

Hope to get some more of it out soon. It is set 20 years in the future of the MH4 timeline, and focuses on the return to Dundorma of our friends and heroes, but not quite the same people as what we remember. The sword the Hunter carries can be seen here

wiki/Eve_Imposing_Dimension_(MH4)

As you can guess, Eve Imposing Dimension is the name of the sword, and it's made from Dalamadur parts.

Look forward to more chapters soon.


	2. Second Prelude: Blades that are True

FULL CIRCLE

By: Matt Taylor

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters and make no money from their use.

Notes: Here's the second part of the prelude. Hope you enjoy it.

SECOND PRELUDE: Blades that are True (1)

FIVE YEARS AFTER THE DEFENSE OF DUNDORMA

Dellumis Village was not the kind of place one usually found so many hunters together. Usually a village like this was protected by a single hunter, who patrolled the surrounding areas. But Dellumis was not a normal village.

"Well, everyone, welcome to my home."

The former Ace Cadet looked over the small village. Other than the lines of homes, and huts, there was a small commons where things like a grocer, an armory, and a blacksmith's were placed. There were Wyverians going to and fro all over the place, some hauling loads of vegetables, others leading herd animals around, others were just chatting.

Several of those gossipers were looking in their direction and whispering.

"It is a beautiful place master." The Ace Commander said, His gaze suddenly going upwards. The Master of Defense noticed it.

"Yes, it is beautiful, but the skys are dark with clouds, and there is an air of desperation around the whole place."

The Ace Lancer walked up to them. "Are you certain it is Kushala Daora?"

"Yes, I have seen it myself, It attacked a group of travelling merchants not that long ago." With this, the Master of Defense sighed. "They said that it had a scar on its face. Immediately after that, I went out to where it was sighted, and saw it up in the sky. Its mere presence brought about a horrible rainstorm, and within the flashes of lightning, I saw the scar myself."

The Ace Commander suddenly grimaced "He's here!"

"Yes, I saw him, and he saw me. It knows who comes to fight it."

"Well, it appears that it will finally be time to finish the beast of." The Ace Gunner spoke, her voice light, but betraying nothing of what she actually thought. "Wouldn't you agree darling?"

She looked over her shoulder at her husband. The Kindred Hunter said nothing at first, but merely clutched the handle of his sword. Finally he spoke

"Frankly, I am still of the belief that we should have gone after it and finished it off five years ago." He said.

"There was little need at the time. I was certain we would not see it again. Many Elder Dragons, once repelled, do not return, for they know that this target can defeat them." The Master of Defense sighed again. "But this Kushala Daora may not feel that way."

"We must start getting the village ready, we cannot let it destroy your home, master." The Ace Commander said. "We will not have as much resources to work with this time, though."

"Yes, I know, which is why I am worried, but I am certain that with all of you here, we will be able to defeat the beast."

The Ace Cadet watched the whole conversation closely, He remembered the Kushala Daora, and how he had stupidly jumped down into the pit at it, when he thought it defeated. He felt himself clutch the handle of his own blade. He was not a foolish cadet anymore, He was an Ace Swordsman! More than worthy now of his presence within the guild's Ace team. Perhaps now he could prove it.

"Something wrong kid?" The Cadet looked up and saw the Kindred Hunter, and Ace Gunner looking at him.

"Nothing! Nothing at all." He said, straightening out his gear. "I'm just looking forward to finishing that thing off is all. And don't call me kid."

With that, he marched off after the Master of Defense, Commander, and Lancer, who were already discussing where to place strategic defenses. The Hunter looked at his wife.

"Is he okay?"

"He's been a little different since the Commander promoted him. Touchy almost" She sighed. "My master used to say that one of the first things many young hunters do after being promoted from cadet, is, And I quote here "Something stupid.""

The Hunter looked at the retreating backside of the former Ace Cadet. "Kid's young still, There's still plenty he can learn, especially from something like this."

"I know. But I feel on edge lately, ever since we passed into this area I've felt like something is waiting to happen."

"I remember when I fought the Shagaru Magala." Herhusband said, referring to an incident from 5 years ago. "Its eyes…It knew me, remembered me. These Elder Dragons are smart, they know who we are, and what we want. They know how easy it would be for them to crush us, we know that, and they know that we know."

He sighed and looked up at the cloudy sky. Suddenly he spoke up. "It's your intuition speaking up Darlin'. We got to be ready for this, whatever happens, that thing remembers us, and it knows that here, in this middle of nowhere village, it can have its revenge. It knows there are no cannons or dragonator's here to hurt it."

For a few moments neither of them said a word.

"Well then, we'd best hurry along, or we'll miss out on the planning." The Ace Gunner said, stepping forward to follow where the cadet had gone. The Kindred hunter smiled just slightly, and followed after her.

…

"We will be forced to use more….Dirty styles of defense here, I am afraid. Dellumis is nowhere near as large of as well built as Dundorma, as such, I am going to insist, Chieftain, that the villagers be moved to a safe place." The Master of defense stood over a small table, with a map of the general area spread over it. The Chieftain was a small Wyverian man, dressed in a purple robe and trousers, with a large rimmed white hat on his head.

"Many will refuse I am afraid. They will insist on staying and defending their home." He said, shaking his head.

"Then you must convince them to leave. We cannot properly fight this thing if we're tripping over the villagers." The Ace Commander said.

"I am aware of that, Commander, and I will do what I can, but they stubbornness of the people of Dellumis is legendary. We've survived multiple draughts, and monster attacks over the centuries, and the people will believe that we can survive this."

"They will survive it." The Master of Defense said, his voice strong with authority. "This is my home as well as theirs, and I will not allow it to fall, not without a fight."

"But log spears? Against the Elder Dragon of metal and wind?" The Ace Swordsman said. The former cadet had been looking at the map since they entered.

"As I said Young swordsman, Dirty styles of Defense. This battle will not be near as quick or clean as the one in Dundorma." The Master of Defense rolled his shoulders and an audible crack sounded.

"Look, everyone in this town is depending on us. If anyone is going to beat this thing it'll be us." The Kindred Hunter said, stepping from his wife's side. "If the Master of Defense says this is the only way, then I believe him."

"Agreed." The Ace Gunner chimed in. The Master smiled.

"Thank you Kindred Hunter. To be completely honest with you, I wish the forgeman from your caravan was here to look at these designs, I trust his eye for engineering more than mine. The rest of the Capitol C would have been helpful too."

"They would have been here sir, but they got called back to the guild for some reason. Some new outfit is accusing the Caravaneer of something. They call themselves the Conservationist League."

I have heard of them. They should not be a problem for us out here at least." The Master of Defense sighed. "Now then, I have assigned each of you to handle certain tasks, take these lists and see about your duties, we must get this done as soon as possible."

…...

After everyone had left, the Ace Gunner walked back into the hall to speak with her old master.

"Yes, Young one?" The Master of Defense asked.

"Master, I do not wish to trouble you during such a difficult time, but….." She trailed off, her head down. The Master of Defense smiled, and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Come now little one, you know you can tell me anything."

"Master, it just seems that ever since we came here I have felt a strange pressure upon me. My husband says it's my hunter's intuition, but it seems like…..like something is waiting to happen."

The Master smiled in a melancholy way.

"I know, I feel it too. It is fate. Fate is what is waiting to happen. You have only just starting feeling it, I have felt it for quite a while now."

"Fate? But what kind of fate?" She felt like a child again, going to her master and asking questions on something she didn't understand.

"Who can tell? Intuition or fate? Both lead to the same place, I have found." He stepped back and looked at her, before smiling warmly.

"Your father would be quite pleased to see you now. You have all the skill he had and more. Now you are wed, and will bring new life into the world soon." The Ace Gunner blushed at this. Her master was one of the few people who could make see right through her.

"We….we've been talking about that and all, but…" He put up a hand to silence her.

"Things for the future. For now, we should concentrate on the defense of this town. Put aside your worries and think on that."

She smiled and nodded. "Yes Master."

"Fate will be, what Fate will be. That is what it has always been. Let us hope this fate is victory for us, eh?"

She nodded again.

"Now, go and join your husband and friends, there is much work to do." She smiled and left the tent. The Chieftain looked over at the Master of Defense. "Fate, eh?"

"Yes." With that his face grew somber and he looked to the cloudy sky. I only pray we have enough time."

But they wouldn't.

…..

"IT'S HERE! THE DRAGON IS HERE!"

The voice of the scout rang through the village. As he did so, screams and shouts followed his call. The Master of Defense ran out of the chief's hut, and looked to the mountains. He squinted and saw it, a brown-grey shape moving towards them and becoming faster and faster. The Ace Commander quickly followed him out.

"Master! Is it….."

"Yes, it's upon us! The Kushala Daora!"

"Damn! We're not near ready for it!" The Ace Commander shouted.

"We are as ready as we are going to get. Now sound the horn!"

The Ace Commander took a long curved horn from his belt, brought it to his lips, and let out a long call on it.

In a moment, the Ace Gunner, Lancer, Swordsman, and the Kindred Hunter were running to the village from the forest. The Lancer ran up to them.

"Commander! What's going on?"

"Kushala Daora! It's on us!"

"What should we do? The weaponry is only half done!" The Ace Swordsman said. And as he spoke this, a horrible burst of wind slammed through the village, sending all of them off their feet, and destroying the fronts of several huts.

As they struggled to their feet, the Ace Gunner shouted out.

"It will be on top of the village in seconds."

The Master of defense was on top of things. "Hunter, once it reachs the village, draw its attention, get it to follow you towards the weaponry. Lancer, Swordsman, evacuate the villagers, if they will not go, then MAKE them go!"

"Let me stay Master!" The swordsman said. "I can help fight that thing."

"You have your orders, Swordsman! A true hunter never disobeys orders from a superior." The Master said. "Gunner, Commander, you go to the weapon, get into place to activate it. It's not much, but it's what we have."

"Yes Master." Both said.

"We will be after you as soon as possible."

And with that all of them scattered. The Master of Defense looked at the Kindred Hunter. "Thank you for coming my friend, I only hope we survive this, I would hate to break the Caravaneer's hunter. I can just imagine the look on his face the next time I see him."

"I don't intend on breaking here sir." He said, smirking.

"Good…Hunter?"

The Hunter looked at him quizzically.

"Thank you for falling in love with my little girl. Please take good care of her."

"I would never dream of not doing so." He said.

"Good, now…"The Master of Defense turned. "It has begun."

And with a roar, and a building destroying burst of wind, the Kushala Daora was on top of them.

The dragon was covered in rusted metal scales, a scar on its face revealing the shining metal beneath the rust. It roared, the sound of it only enhanced by the roaring wind. The Kinded Hunter reached into hi spouch, and pulled out a small orb. He tossed it up and down for a second, before throwing it right at the Dragon' face.

The sonic bomb exploded on its nose, releasing a loud sonic sound wave directly in the creature's face. It howled and looked down at the source of this attack.

"Over here yah big freak!" The Hunter yelled, you remember me don't yah? Why don't you see if you can catch me!" He turned, and both he and the master of Defense ran towards the forest. The Elder Dragon roared in rage and was after them.

….

By the time they reach the clearing, they had managed to put some distance between them and the elder dragon.

"The forest and trees will slow it down, How is the weapon?" The Master shouted. In the trees above them, the Ace Gunner and the Ace Commander were stationed on two separate platforms on opposing sides of the clearing.

"It is ready, what we finished of it at least." The Gunner said.

"Good. Once it hits, it will be a fight, we must slay the thing, and slay it here."

"It's almost here!" The Hunter shouted, and true enough, the roaring and breaking of trees was getting closer.

"Everyone ready! Activate when I give the word!" The Master shouted, with that both he and the Hunter ran to the far end of the clearing. As soon as they made it The Kushala Daora burst through the woods, and announced its presence with a deafening roar.

The Master raised his hand. "Hold!"

With that the dragon began to charge. When it reached the center of the clearing, the Master lowered his arm.

"NOW!"

All of a sudden, two large logs, attached to the towering trees by thick rope, there ends carved into sharpened points and hardened with fire, came falling out of the woods. Both trees slammed point first into the body of the elder dragon.

Kushala Daora roared in pain!

"Now everyone! You must finish it off now!" The Master yelled. The Ace Commander leapt and landed on the back of the beast, cutting at its neck with his dual blades. The Ace Gunner stayed on her platform, and firing on the dragon with her bowgun. The Kindred Hunter was on him from the front, his longsword cleaving into any weak areas he could find.

For a few moments, it seemed like they had a chance, but all of a sudden the Kushala Daora lowered its head, and reared back, building up and releasing a huge blast of wind from its body. The Ace Commander and Hunter were both blown away. The Ace Gunner was knocked off of her platform and landed in the brush! The dragon hovered over them, surrounded by an aura of wind. It roared in rage.

The Master of Defense looked on from the back of the clearing, as the aces got back to their feet. All of a sudden he heard commotion behind him.

"Master!" The Ace Lancer said. The Master of Defense turned in shock and saw the Lancer and Ace Swordsman come up behind him.

"What's going on!? Where are the villagers?"

"We couldn't stop them master, they insisted on returning to the village! They said they would defend it with their dying breaths!"

"THE FOOLS!" As he said this, he turned back to the Kushala Daora and saw the look in its eyes change. They had hurt him, and now he knew how to hurt them!" All of a sudden, the dragon took off into the sky, and high above them it created a massive aura of wind around its body. Like a tornado in mid air!

"The Village!" The Master shouted, The rest of them where all on their feet. "Back to the village!"

Even as they started to run, they heard another roar from the Elder Dragon, and it dived! It's body surrounded by a horrible tornado of dragon wind, and it seemed to collide with an area far past them! There was a horrible explosion of wind and dirt cascading into the sky.

The Master of Defense could only stare for a moment. Then he set his mouth in a grim line. "Come."

…

The village was in ruins. Where there was once a small but thriving village, there was now….nothing. A few scraps of buildings and huts, bricks, dead pack animals….and bodies.

The Master of Defense fell to his knees, the five hunters skidded to a halt behind him. The Ace Gunner put both her hands to her mouth in shock.

"No…..No…." The Master of Defense raised his fist and brought it down on the ground, raising a cloud of dirt.

And as he did so, the wind began to slowly pick up again. As it grew in power, they heard the flapping of wings, and saw a shadow appear in the cloud of dust above them.

"It's still here!" The Ace Commander said. Just as he said so, a large burst of wind erupted from the beast's mouth, and took all five of them off their feet. But the Master of Defense was unaffected, and he stood up, clutching his umbrella.

"Master!" The Ace Gunner shouted.

"I could not save this village," He turned his head to look at them, and gave them all a fond smile. "But I can save you."

He twisted the end of the umbrella handle, and it came away from the rest of the shaft, revealing a long, sharp blade.

"Master, don't!" The Commander shouted. But the Master of Defense merely smiled slightly and leapt with astonishing speed and force. The rest of them where never sure of what exactly happened that day, but they remembered seeing a flash of a blade, the slashing of claws, the reflection of metal falling onto the ground, and a roar of horrible pain.

When that had ended, they saw the body of their master, fall to the ground with a thud, his sword still clutched in his hand, and they heard the flapping of wings becoming fainter and fainter.

The Ace Gunner and Commander ran to their master's body

"He's….he's gone." She said over her tears. As she wept, she looked to the sky, and saw the clouds fade and the blue sky finally reveal itself again, and realized that they had won.

END OF PART 1

SECOND PRELUDE: Blades That Are True (2)

FIFTEEN YEARS AFTER THE DEFENSE OF DUNDORMA

PRIMAL FOREST

That time they had all of the rest of their team with them, but now it was just the two of them.

"Where is it sir?" The Ace Swordsman asked.

"It's close, it's very close." The Ace Commander said. He looked up at the cloud covered sky, and knew what it meant. He could hear the roar, and flapping of wings. The beast was looking for its enemies.

"It's been ten years since we saw this fiend last." The Swordsman said. "I say we finish it off here."

The Ace Commander was silent. This Kushala Daora, it was not like any other of those beasts. It seemed to take damage that would kill ten elder dragons, and keep coming.

"Hhmm. We should have waited for everyone else." The Commander said to himself. But truthfully there was not enough time. The Elder Dragon had dropped down on the village without any warning. The Guild had gotten the villagers out, and sent what members of the Ace Hunters it has on hand after the beast.

"We didn't have any time!" The Ace Swordsman said, repeating his commanders own internal thoughts. The Commander looked at the one time cadet, and smiled. He had grown so much since those days, his skill with a blade, his judgment, his newly found refusal to use those puns. It was something to be proud of. But he could still be reckless at times.

"Come, it's probably headed for the waterfall." The Ace Commander said. The Swordsman nodded and followed after his leader.

The waterfall would be a beautiful place, there were vines hanging downj, leading up to the Wyvern nest on the peak, and red flower petals littered the water by the entrance, and it was usually a place of peace and thought.

But today an Elder Dragon was within it.

The Ace Commander skidded to a stop, the swordsman right behind him. Kushala Daora turned and let out the roar which they both remembered so well. It's rusted metal scales, differentiated only by the scars it bore that showed shining silver metal beneath.

"Flank it!" The Commander yelled. "If we come at it from two sides we stand a better chance of keeping it distracted!"

"Right!" The Swordsman ran towards the left side of the best, cutting at the beast's wing with his blade. It raised its left arm, and swiped its claws at him. His shield caught the blow, but it knocked him back a few steps. While this happened, the Ace Commander slashed at the dragon's unprotected side.

"Keep it up Swordsman! Don't give it room to move!"

The two hunters circled around the Elder Dragon, striking blows whenever they could. Finally that same horrible roar pierced the area, and a great aura of wind sprung up around the dragon, knocking both men back. But neither of them would give up.

"Commander?"

"Keep fighting Swordsman! We will not let this thing escape again!"

The Ace Swordaman gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on his sword. This was what he had been training for for years! To finally strike this horror down and avenge the death of the Master of Defense. He remembered his friends when they buried him. The Ace Gunner actually crying! He had never seen her do that in all the time he'd known her. The Commander just standing before the grave, his head down, not saying a sword. The Lancer's eulogy, he almost broke down during it from tears.

He swore then and there that he would kill the beast! He would have justice for every life taken by this Kushala Daora.

He continued to follow his Commander's lead, circling the beast and cutting through the wind whenever he could. All of a sudden the creature rammed to his side, catching the Ace Swordsman head on.

"No!" The Commander yelled. He reached into his pouch and pulled out a small orb. He flung it at the creature's head and it exploded in a noxious cloud. The Kushala Daora reared about and took off.

The Ace Commander rushed to his protégé's side.

"Are you aliright?"

"I'm…..I'm okay…" He mumbled.

"You're bleeding bad. Come on, I'm getting you back to the camp."

Soon enough, he had got them both back to the camp ground, and placed the swordsman on the bed.

The Hunter was moaning in pain. He took a Megapotion from his pouch, and tilted it down his former student's throat. As he did so, he heard the roar coming from the forest.

"I'm sorry my friend, but I need to finish this." He drew his swords. "Stay here and heal."

The Ace Swordsman reached out for him. "Sir!"

The Ace Commander took off, and didn't look back. The Ace Swordsman tried to sit up, but the dizziness immediately forced him back down. After what seemed like forever, he felt the Mega-potion kick in, and the dizziness vanished. He was still bleeding, but not as much. He got up and forced himself to follow the Ace Commander.

He followed his trail through the forest, refusing to let his commander face the beast alone. Finally he found himself at the Wyvern's nest, and saw his Commander.

He stood before the Kushala Daora, with his blades drawn breathing heavily. The Swordsman called out, but he saw his Commander leap and just like ten years ago, it happened. A flash of blades, a swipe of claws, a roar of pain, and this time, a spurt of blood.

His Commander fell to the ground, and he ran up to him. The Dragon was flying off into the air, blood still dripping on the ground. He leaned down and tried to place the Ace Commander into a sitting position.

"Sire!? Sir!?" The Swordsman saw the Commander open his eyes with great effort, and smile at him. His hand reached behind him, and pulled out the Master of Defense old carving knife. He handed it over to him.

"Here. It's yours now." He whispered. With that, his eyes closed and his arm fell back to the ground.

The Ace Swordsman was silent for a moment, before rearing back his head and shouting as loud as possible to the heavens, expressing all his grief in a single moment.

And above him, the clouds separated and the blue sky appeared.

END OF SECOND PRELUDE.

Here's the second prelude, dark, eh?

Next up is the first chapter. I'll try to get it out as soon as possible. Hope you all enjoy so far.


	3. Chapter 1

FULL CIRCLE

By: Matthew Taylor

Notes: Here is chapter 1 of my fic. Hope you enjoy it, and I hope you can figure out who is who here.

CHAPTER 1

20 YEARS AFTER THE DEFENSE OF DUNDORMA.

Why was it always Rathians?

The Hunter lay on his bed, having just awoken from a long, and blissfully monster free sleep. As he woke up, all the soreness of yesterday's hunt poured back on him. Four days, Four straight Rathian hunts.

If he never saw another tail flipping wyvern it would be too soon.

He had already decided to take this day off. He was certain that after all he had done, the guild would not look down on one day of rest. He wasn't certain where the Caravaneer was heading, but he could feel the dragonship bouncing along slightly under him, and felt it begin to lull him to sleep again, when the ship was struck from the side with a gigantic blow, and he was flung against the far wall.

"Alarm! "Awwk!" Alarm "Awwk!"" Came a shrill voice from above. He heard a great commotion in the rooms beyond his chambers. The door burst open, and the Caravaneer came through.

He was a tall man, with chestnut brown hair that was only now going to gray on the edges. Clean-shaven, he wore a red hat, and jacket, with blue pants, and knee high brown boots, at his belt was a whip on one side, and a large knife on the other.

"Come on Kindred Hunter!" He said. "Time to do your duty!"

The Hunter swore under his breath, and followed his current employer out the door, and past a crowd of people. They burst out through the door to the top of the dragonship, and were surrounded in dust and sand of the great desert. There was a loud roar off to the eastern side.

"An old friend of mine decided to shop up." The Caravaneer said, smiling. The Hunter looked over and took in the huge size of the Dah'ren Mohran.

"An Elder Dragon!?"

"Yep. Looks like we wandered into its territory. Damn territorial the old thing, it's a Fortress and this is the land it protects." The Caravaneer spit out over the side of the ship. "Okay Kindred Hunter, get to the Ballista while I get the dragonator ready."

The Caravaneer ran off to the front of the ship, and the Hunter followed him to the Ballista rack. He gathered as many as he could and ran to the Balllista closest to him.

"Remember Kindred Hunter, aim for the nose of the thing first!" The Caravaneer shouted.

"Right." He loaded two of the large harpoons into the Ballista, aimed and fired at the giant beast's nose. The Harpoons hit above the things jaw, and it didn't seem affected by it.

"What's going on!?" The Hunter looked behind him, and saw a veritable tower of a man come out from below deck. He had grey hair that still showed streaks of blonde, he wore a large yellow robe and leather pants of the same color. He wore brown boots that reached up to his knees.

"Hey Biologist, we got ourselves some company."

"I told you it would be trouble going this way!" The Biologist shouted over the roar of the beast. The Hunter continued to fire at the creature's horn as the two men talked.

"We're on a time-table old friend, had to go this way, you know what we're headed towards."

The Biologist sighed, and nodded. "What can I do?"

"Start loading up the cannon, we gotta show this old man what it is he's fighting against." The Caravaneer turned back to the young hunter. "How we doing Hunter?"

"It doesn't look like it's affecting it." He said, firing another volley at the elder dragon's horn.

"It does look that way but keep it up! It always looks like that!"

"Be calm and listen to him my friend." The Biologist said, walking past, and carrying a cannonball with one arm. "We've fought this beast before."

He loaded the cannon with a single hand and the large iron ball went careening into the dragon's side, exploding with a burst of fire.

"Can I do anything, sir?" Came a voice from beneath the Hunter's feet, He reared in shock , and came close to falling over the side. There was a blonde head of hair sticking out of the hatchway leading below.

"How's it going below?" The Caravaneer called.

"Some of the diggers were panicking, but your wife has them under control."

"Okay, We're almost done up here, make sure all of them are accounted for, and try to keep the Wycoon's seat from hitting the cook's kitchen stuff again. You know how he feels about that."

The girl saluted. "Aye-aye sir!"

"We're almost done?!" The Hunter asked, increduosly. "That thing doesn't look scratched!"

"Did I not say, calm yourself, young Hunter?" The Biologist called, loading another cannonball into the canon. "Fire at the thing's nose once more, if you please."

The Hunter turned back to the ballista, and fired his last volley of harpoons at the Elder Dragon's Horns. To his shock, there was a loud cracking sound, and a huge chunk of the tip broke off. He could only stare in shock.

"See, I could tell that the beast was weakening." The Biologist said.

"It's diving!" The Caravaneer yelled and ran to the front of the ship. Sure enough, the Dah'ren Mohran began to twirl in place, lifting itself up and diving down. It may have lost the tip of its horn but it was still capable of burrowing through the loose sand of the Great Desert.

"Up top here, Hunter. I want to show you something."

The Young Hunter ran to where the Caravaneer was. As he did so he saw the blade on the man's back. It was a Long Sword, he was sure of it. The handle was up over his right shoulder, and the blade went all the way down past his knee. It was covered head to foot in bandage, and the hilt and crossguard was covered in a separate bandage, with a strange looking seal locking it up.

"Here he comes!" The Caravaneer yelled. And sure enough, the Dah'ren Mohran suddenly resurfaced in front of them. "Stand by the switch Hunter, but don't hit it till I give the word."

The Hunter ran by the switch and picked up a large mining pick laying by it. The Caravaneer raised his hand. "Not yet."

The Elder Dragon began to charge. Great currents of sand were tossed aside by its passing.

"Not yet."

The Hunter began to sweat a little, the thing's horrible roar was getting louder.

"And…Now!"

The instance the word was said, the Hunter brought the mining pick down on the switch. Beneath both of them, there was a large metal drill attached to the front of the ship. It began to spin in place. The Dah'ren suddenly raised up out of the sand, intent to crush the ship completely. The drill spun faster, and suddenly jetted out, impaling the creature in its soft stomach.

The Beast roared in pain, and fell to the side. Within moments it began to run, swimming out away from the ship, and deeper and deeper into the Great Desert. Soon enough, it was a speck on the horizon.

A strong clap came down on the Hunter's shoulder, as he watched it swim away.

"Nicely done Kindred Hunter. Almost as smooth as I did it back in the day."

As he let go of the Ballista, he felt all that soreness return, and now he had new pains from this recent battle. He dropped to his knees.

"Guuh." He said. The Caravaneer grinned.

"Why don't you head down and check on everything. Miss Forge and the Love of my life should have everything in shape, but it never hurts to check out."

Eager for any reason to get closer to his bed, the Hunter obliged and went back through the floor hatch. Inside the ship he saw two woman standing in front of a large group of men in dirty clothes. One of them was the blonde head who had poked up through the hatch earlier. Miss Forge was a woman of medium height and build, wearing a type of overalls, a yellow tanktop, and headband. Her arms and midsection were bare, and covered in cords of muscle. She had a surprisingly large hammer over her shoulder, and an infectious grin on her face.

The other woman was a different story. Her clothing was identical to the Caravaneer, though blue, where his was red. Her hair was dark as night, and her skin was almost as dark. There were triangular marks on her cheeks, and beads strung in a few strands of her hair which was tied up in a tail near the top of her head. She was, all things concerned, one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen, the only thing breaking it up was the eye-patch covering her right eye. The eye-patch, and her general demeanor, made her extremely intimidating.

This was the Caravaneer's wife.

She walked up to him.

"Kindred Hunter," she stated matter-of-factly. "It was Dah'ren Mohran?"

"Yeah, but me, your husband, and the Biologist got him to go away."

"Very good." She turned back to the men. "There you go gentlemen, the danger has passed. I trust you are all fully ashamed of your cowardly behavior now?"

The ice in the woman's voice could have frozen magma.

The men seemed to mill about, but one of them stepped forward.

"We were hired on to dig up ruins, not fight giant sand beasts." Some of the men seemed to regain their spines at this, and started agreeing it. "We were promised protection from monsters."

"And you have received it!" She said again, spitting out each word in a wad of scorn. "Our Hunter, and several of our personnel have dealt with the Elder Dragon. You all make a living off of digging up ancient ruins, which, as you recall, are one of the most monster-rich environments in the world. I expected more courage from all of you. I am severely disappointed."

She turned around with a swish.

"We are approaching the airship docks, and we will be heading over to the Arluq for the remainder of this journey, I expect all of you to be ready when we arrive. You are dismissed."

The diggers filed out with a much more dejected air, and the Caravaneer's wife turned to the hunter.

"Thank you for your aid Hunter, why don't you head to bed? You look exhausted."

With that she passed him and headed up through the hatch. Miss Forge walked up to him.

"Great work Hunter! Just like the boss back in the day!" She clapped him on the back and he was reminded of just how strong she actually was.

"How are the Wycoon, and Street Cook?" He asked, wincing.

"Fine. Some of the street cook's utensils got thrown around, but he got his apprentices to go and pick them up. He could have waited for the attack to end, but he's always been a "right now" kind of person."

"Okay. I'm gonna go to bed."

"You do that." She said, walking past him and whistling. With that the Young Hunter went back to the area containing his "room" and, without wasting a moment, collapsed on the bed, and began to snore.

….

KAR'LUMIS Air Ship Dock: On the edge of the Great Desert.

The Wyverian in charge of the docks was similar in many ways to others of his race the Hunter had seen. He was short, mostly bald (judging by appearances), with pointed ears, and his hands behind his back. The only thing separating him from his bretheren was his small black, pencil thin mustache, pilot's hat and goggles.

And, of course, there was the way he talked.

"As you can zee Caravaneer! Ze Arlug iz in most, how you say, excellent condition!" He said, motioning to the airship, which even now was being loaded with the Caravan's supplies and various vehicles. The Street Cook, an old palico with a wok for a hat, was being carried around on a lift by four other palico, and seemed to be yelling things at the various workers doing the loading.

"Excellent work Mon' Capitan! Everything seems to be in order." The Caravaneer said, looking over the old airship. The Arluq had been built for the previous Capitol C Caravan, and had continued its service to the new. While built twenty years ago, it had been undergoing upgrades and renovations for all that time, and could keep up with any modern vessel.

"It is, how you say, a pleasure to work on such a ship as Zis!" The Wyverian called Mon Capitan, said. "Ze design is a true classeec! There iz not a true airman in Ze world who would not wish to fly her!"

One of the workers ran up to them. "Pardon me Capitan! But all the supplies are loaded. All that remains is the refueling."

"Mon Dieu! You have not finished Ze refueling yet!? What is the reason for that?!"

"I am sorry Mon Capitan, but the new supply of fuel is only just arriving. We will begin momentarily!"

The Wyverian threw his arms up in the air.

"I am zorry Caravaneer, but it seems you cannot leave just yet."

"No problem Mon' Capitan. I'll take my people to the lounge for now, if that's okay." The Caravaneer said, waving away the other's concerns.

….

The Caravaneer stood in front of the rest of the caravan within the lounge.

"Okay folks, since we got some time what say we go over what we're doing and were we're headed." He took a deep breath. "For those who may not know everything right now."

The young Hunter swore that the Caravaneer's eyes quickly turned to him before turning away. Perhaps he was just seeing things.

"Especially our Kindred Hunter here."

Or maybe not. A sour look passed onto his face.

The Capitol C Caravan is heading to the city of Dundorma. We have chosen to cut short our excavation of the ruined city within the Southern Everewood because of a crisis situation developing within the city. Because of this, we have received a special request from His Immenseness to come and aid the city for this crisis.

He put down a roll of paper on the table, and unrolled it, within it was a picture of a four legged dragon.

"Two weeks ago the Dragonseer spotted this thing within the vicinity of the outlying regions under the control of Dundorma. I trust I don't have to explain to you the significance of it?" Once again, the Caravaneer flashed the Hunter a look, "But I will anyway."

Another sour look.

"This is Kushala Daora, the Elder Dragon of Wind and Metal. Twenty years ago, this creature attacked Dundorma and was repelled by a combined effort of the Guild's Resident Ace Hunters, and the Master of Defense."

"Do we know it's the same creature as twenty years ago?" The Hunter asked.

"Yes we do, certain physical characteristics on this beast match the one's from twenty years back."

"Pardon darling." The Caravaneer's wife said, in a strangely light tone. "While I would never look down upon the Ace Hunter's, and the Master of Defense, wasn't the Legendary Hunter involved in that fight as well?"

The Young Hunter looked up with a look of surprised interest. The Caravaneer looked unaffected.

"Was he? I suppose he was. Never really cared for the man myself, but since I suppose it would be proper for our young Hunter to know as much as possible. I will include him."

Miss Forge giggled at this.

"Yes, these six individuals together with a weapon designed and built by members of the Capitol C Caravan, as it was at the time, defeated and repelled the Kushala Daora. Now it has come back for its revenge on the city."

"Has his Immenseness called any other defenses to the city?" Miss Forge asked.

"He has. Thanks to the new upgrades recently made to the Gathering hall in Val Habar, it has been moved, with great expense as the guild master will no doubt remind you, to Dundorma for the forseeable future. Over the next few weeks a veritable army of hunters will be converging on the city. Along with them will be no less than three armorer's consortium's and suppliers guilds. Dundorma is going to be a whirlwind of activity for awhile. The Capitol C Caravan, due to its rather prominent role in the previous defense of the city, will be taking a central role in all this."

The Caravaneer took a deep breath

"And that is the situation as it stands now."

"Seems a bit much for one Elder Dragon." The Young Hunter said. "Elder Dragon's are powerful, but I've never heard of one that required more than a good defense set-up and, maybe, four hunters."

"Ah, yes, it appears I've forgotten something. The Dragonseer has noticed something else. A massive amount of monsters seem to be gathering in the forests, field and caves around Dundorma and its area of governance. These are not small monsters, they have spotted such creatures as Golden Rathian, Silver Rathalos, Molten Tigrex, and others of their ranks. As such, not one hunter vetted by the guild for this mission is ranked beneath Top-level High Rank, and many of them will be registered G-rank by His Immenseness."

The Young Hunter suddenly felt a small shiver run up his spine.

"And most disturbing of all, is the theory they at the Wyceum have come up for this. They believe that the Kushala Daora is somehow "calling" these creatures to it."

"Prepare yourselves everyone, we're not going into a normal hunt here, we're going into a war."

And with that, a servant of Mon Capitan came into the lounge, and told them the ship was ready.

…..

TO BE CONTINUED.

Well, Here's chapter 1, hope you all enjoy it. Been on vacation for a bit this past week. Now I managed to get this done.

Okay, I think you can guess just who is who here.

Caravaneer: Kindred Hunter/player character.

Caravaneer's wife: Ace Gunner

The Biologist: Ace Lancer.

Miss Forge: Little Miss Forge.

You'll see more of them, along with what happened to the old Caravaneer, and The Man, later. Not to mention the Guildmarm. The Street cook, and Wycoon are still there. The Street Cook is now much older, and leaves most of the cooking to his four servants/Apprentices. The Wycoon is still the same. I figure that since Wyverians live much longer than normal people, twenty years is not that long too him.

Prior to this, they, along with a fleet of diggers were excavating a ruin in the Southern reaches of the Everwood, but were called away when news of what was coming came to them.

Hope to get more chapters out to you soon, please, let me know what you think.


End file.
